Golden Zoanthid

The golden zoanthid is a colonial coral that grows in small irregular groups and linear rows that wind over the surface of its host sponge. It does not have a calcareous skeleton but the polyps are connected by a membranous basal connection. The polyps look like small sea anemones and are orange or bright yellow and about 0.6 centimetres (0.24 in) in diameter. They have a slender column and up to twenty six long, thin, pale yellow tentacles. As much as half the surface of the sponge may be covered by the coral, which may consist of up to 200 polyps.

The golden zoanthid is common in the Caribbean Sea and round the Bahamas. It is also known from Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It is mostly found at depths between 10 and 20 metres (33 and 66 ft) but occasionally occurs in shallower water. It is always found colonising a sponge, often the brown tube sponge (Agelas conifera), the green finger sponge (Iotrochota birotulata) or the pink or brown Topsentia ophiraphidites. It usually occurs in sandy or silty locations.